Railway signal-fusee.



I. NIDITGH.

RAILWAY SIGNAL PUsBB. APPLICATION FILED 1120.28, 1910.

984,290. Patented Feb. 14, 1911.

' accompanying drawing.

ISADOR-E NIDITCH, GF DORCHESTEB, MASSACHUSETTS.

RAILWAY SIGNALFUSEE.

Specification of Letters latent.

Patenten nen. re, reir.

Application filed December 28,1910. Serial No. 599,770.

To all whom it may concern.'

Be it `known that IsADonn NmrrcH, a f

citizen of the United States, residing at Dori chester, in the county of Suffolk and State 1 of Massachusetts', have invented certain new Q and useful Improvements in Railway Signal-Fusees, of which the following is a specii tional contact between the potassium chlorate and the phosphorus.

My aforesaid patented composition includes sulfur and my present improvement consists in providing an improved separating wall between the potassium ehlorate i lighting stratum and the sulfur in the comeation, reference being had therein to the My invention rela-tes to improvements in railway signal i'rusees, and the primary object is to provide a railway signal insee so constructed that it is not subject to spontaneous ignition.

In they accompanying drawings: Figure l is a longitudinal. sectional view of a insee which embodies my present improvement. Fig, 2 is a similar view showing a modification of the' construction of my improved insee.

it is well known to those skilled in this art, that the combustible composition contained within the paper tube of t'usees has in years past been of such a character that spontaneous ignition resulted under the action of climatic conditions of moisture and heat to which thefusees are necessarily subjectedfin storage and in transportation. 'lt is also well known that very destructive tires have resulted from spontaneous ignition of the combustible compound in railway signa-l fusees and, in some instances, there has been loss of life by reason thereof.

The spontaneous ignition of usees was due to the fact that the combustible com- 'pound included sulfur and potassium chlorate. The sulfur in the compound in the presence of heat and moisture produces sult'urous and sulfuric acids, which in the presence of potassium chlora-te decomposes the latter with the result that a gas is generated,

known as chlorin peroxid which -ignites spontaneously.

In my Patent-.Nd 954.,%30, dated April 5th 1910, I describe and claim a fusee composition which omits the combination of sulfur and potassium chlorate thus prev'entin the spontaneous ignition, and reference is made .to this patent for the detail description of my patent insee compound.

Railway signal fusees as manufactured include a lighting head or stratum which is composed principally ot potassium chlorate, and it is well known that the fusees have also a. member carrying principally phosphorus, and that the insee is ignitedl :ericbustible compound, and thus prevents spontaneous ignition by reason of the action ot any sulfuric or sulfurous acids generated in,

or that maybe generated within the combustible compound 'acting upon the potas sium ehlorate lighting head. Referring now to the drawings, l is the usual paper tube in which my patented usee compound 2 is contained. Connected Vwith one end of this tube is the usual plug 3, which carries a spike 4.

Referring now particularly to Fig. l, the lighting head or stratum 5, which is chiefly composed ot potassium chlorate is shown in the form of a core 5, which projects into the combustible compound :2. My improvement consists in interposing between the core 5 and the compound 2 a. separating wall 6, the chief constituent of which is a deoxidizing agent. This wall is of a substance which is undecomposable in the presence of any acid which may be generated within the combustible compound 2 and thus interpose's a protecting;` barrier wall between the combustible compound 2 and the potassium chlorate lighting stratum 5. As shown in Fig. l, this wall 6 is in the form or' a pocket in which the lighting core 5 is'placedl Pref erabiy this wall or barrier is composed of Celluloid, though it .may be composed of any deoxidizing` material that is not acted on by the acids within or liable to be generated within the insee composition, such for instance as paper, shellac, glue, vaseline, parailin, wood pulp, ortin foil.

Referring now to Fig. 2, 5 is the potas sium chlorate lighting head or stratum, and 6 is the separating' wall or barrier between the lighting' stratum and the combustible compound 2.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

l. An improved signal fusee comprising an elongated combustible tube, a combusti- `vble compound within the tube and including an ingredient hable to produce lacids and an oxidizing agent undecornposable by acids, an outside lighting stratum, and a scpaof chlorate,

rating Wall consisting of a deoxidizing sub- Vstance undeeomposable by acids in or liable to be genera-ted Withinthe combustible con1- pound.

'2. An improved signal fusee comprising an elongated combustible tube, a combustible compound Within the tube and including an ingredient liable to produce acids and an oxidizing agent undecomposable by acids, an outside lighting stratum composed chiey andv a separating -Wallconsistinfr of a deoxidizing substance undecomposabile by acids in or liablel to be generated within the combustible compound.

3. An im roved signal fusee' comprising. combustible tube, a combustible,l

,an elongate compound Within the tube and including an side lightingT stratum Composed chiefly of chlorate, and a hydrocarbon separating Wall igredieut liable to produce acids7 an out-` 

